


Somehow You Manage

by soccer



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Established Hollstein, Established LaFerry, F/F, Fluffy, Human AU, Slight OOC for Carmilla only because she is a big softie, Surprise Birthday AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 20:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4235238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soccer/pseuds/soccer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla throws Laura a surprise birthday party along with an after party surprise.<br/>Super fluffy, literally no angst.<br/>Human AU so no vampire stuff.<br/>Rating given for cussing if anyone cares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somehow You Manage

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot has been in my head for months and I finally decided to write it. It is also self edited so sorry about any mistakes. Shout out to my friend Tara (tumblr: wecatchkillers) for always listening to me talk about writing and helping me out.

“Alright, there. I think everything is ready.”

“It looks pretty good.”

“You think she’s gonna like it?”

“Are you kidding, this is exactly something Laura would like.”

“You sure?”

“Don’t worry, vamp, she’s going to love it and you.” You blush- and internally cringe- at the thought. You haven’t exactly exchanged those three words to each other yet.

“Why do you insist on calling me that?”

“What? Vamp?” they ask, shooting you a confused look. You nod in reply. “Because you looked rocking in your vampire costume on Halloween.”

“You do realize that was like five months ago?”

“Ya, so?”

“Nothing. Thanks for the compliment, I guess.”

“Yep.”

“You looked pretty badass in your mad scientist costume.”

“Thanks, Perry helped with the blood, made sure it would come out of the clothes and such.” You nod absently. “Hey,” they put their hand on your shoulder, “don’t worry so much. This place looks amazing.”

They’re not wrong. Since you started dating at the end of last semester, you’ve been planning Laura’s surprise birthday party. It took a little time, but you managed to incorporate most every fandom she’s apart of into the decorations. A cardboard cutout of the Tardis, a Harry Potter happy birthday banner, a cake of Veronica Mars’s head, a Wonder Woman table cloth, balloons with the cast of Buffy on them, somehow you even found wrapping paper with Lois Lane on the internet for her gift which was sitting next to LaF and Perry’s on the gift table. You give a small smile at your handy work.

“You're right, it is pretty good. Thanks for helping me put it all together.”

“No problem. There was an explosion in the lab from some Alchemy Club experiment so my lab was canceled.” You raise your eye brows in question. They just shrug in response.

“I just skipped class for the day.”

“Don’t tell Perry that. I love her, but she will chew you out for wasting ‘precious learning time’. I say sometimes you need a break.” This is one thing you love about having a friend like LaF; they don’t judge you or give you crap about you living your life. Plus they have a sense of humor that you don’t always understand, but it still makes you laugh. But you would never admit that to anyone out loud.

“Speaking of the control freak, when does your lovely s/o get here?”

“She just did, and you're lucky I am such a ‘control freak’. Someone else would have forgotten to bring actual food besides the cake,” Perry voices from behind you. You turn quickly, surprised by her sudden appearance, and a bit embarrassed that you didn’t think of getting food other than the cake.

“Thanks Perry,” you mumble, looking at the containers and bags in her hands. She nods at you, accepting your thanks as if it is rightfully hers. You never understood how Perry worked and you kinda don’t want to.

“Now, will you two help me or just stand there like bumps on a log?” LaF immediately rushes over to give a hand. You stifle a laugh at how obviously they are whipped because you know you are the same way when it came to Laura. One look of those puppy dog eyes and you are done, caving in to whatever harebrained scheme she wants to involve you in.

You walk over to the curly red head, taking a couple of bags of chips off her hands. LaF takes the tray of chopped veggies to the table that houses the cake. You follow and place the chips next to the veggies.

“Did you bring any bowls for the chips?”

“Yep,” she replies, handing you two bowls. Where those came from, you’ll never ask. You pour the chips into the bowls, spilling some of the contents onto the table. Perry shoots you a disapproving look, which you just shrug off, and starts cleaning the small mess you made. LaF is already digging into the food provided. Perry slaps their hand away.

“Not yet, save it for the party.”

“Fine,” they sigh.

“Whipped,” you cough. They send you unimpressed glares. You just smirk.

“Lafontaine, will you help me bring in the sodas from the car?”

“Sure thing.” They leave you alone in the dorm’s common room. It’s the middle of the day so literally no one is here, which is uncommon, but not unappreciated. Though you’ve been dating Laura publically for two months, you still have a reputation to keep up. Throwing this somewhat childish party would have damaged it. But somehow, you don’t have the ability to care what other people think of you when it comes to Laura. You think you might love her.

“Carmilla,” Perry calls to you from the doorway, having returned arms full with packs of assorted soda cans, LaF in a similar state. “Would you mind grabbing the bucket next to the door and filling it with ice.”

“Ya sure, I’ve got nothing better to do.” The guests would be arriving soon, just a few people from Laura’s classes, including Danny. Why did you invite her again? Oh ya, cause Laura actually likes that Golly Ginger Giant.

You shuffle to the door and pick up the large metal bucket.

“Don’t fill it too high. We do need to actually put drinks in it,” Perry calls after you as you walk down the hall towards the ice machine.

“That was ONE time,” you yell back. You had never thrown a party before so how were you supposed to know that filling the drink cooler to the top was a bad idea? Danny made fun of you for weeks. You got her back by dying all of her obnoxiously colored clothes black. It wasn’t that bad, just like three pairs of pants and fours shirts. It was funny to see the human skyscraper wear those clothes occasionally, especially when people asked if she was going goth. What wasn’t so funny is that Laura wouldn’t talk to you for a week. Even though that was before you started dating, you missed talking to her and having movie marathons with her. It was then when you realized you had a crush on her. Eventually after constant begging, many cookies and hot chocolates, she started talking to you again, but only after you apologized to Danny, something you hated doing, but you did to get your roommate and best friend back.

You filled the bucket about three fourths full with ice before trudging back to the common room. Taking the bucket to the ice room was way easier than taking it back to the common room. This thing weighed a ton. As soon as you got to the table, you dropped the bucket on the floor, causing a few ice cubes to fall out.

“Could you be more careful?” Perry asks in irritation.

“I could,” you reply. Perry huffs in annoyance at your apathy before picking up the cubes and throwing them outside.

You help LaF put an assortment of sodas into the bucket, leaving the rest under the table to be used throughout the party. You're going to have to be extra nice to Perry for buying the sodas and the snakes. You totally forgot.

“Well Fangs, it doesn’t look half bad in here,” an annoying voice says from the doorway.

“Xena, how terrible of you to join us,” you sneer without turning to look at her.

“I _can_ leave.”

“No one’s stopping you.”

“Fine…but what will Laura say?” Laura would be upset that one of her best, though probably one of the most annoying, friends was not at her party. It’s not a secret that you don’t get along with the warrior princess, so Laura would know it was most likely your fault. Plus it’s the tiny gay’s birthday; you can be somewhat less unpleasant with her annoying friends.

“Ugh, just get in and don’t get in the way goliath.”

She doesn’t respond to that insult as she walks in and take a seat on the couch.

“When is Laura supposed to get her anyways?” Danny asks from her seat. Perry is giving the tall ginger the side eye for resting her feet on the coffee table. You kinda would enjoy seeing the high strung ginger attack the Amazon. Your money would be on Perry.

“I talked with one of Laura’s friends from journalism class and she said that she will bring Laura after class which ends in,” you pull out your phone to check the time (you have to suppress a smile at the background picture of you and Laura standing in front of a Christmas tree, Danny would have a field day making fun of you), “twenty minutes.”

“We just gonna wait?”

“You’re free to leave,” you point out. You half want her to leave on her own accord so you won't get in trouble, but you know somehow the blame will fall to you. “But me and the ginger twins are going to wait for the rest of the guests to arrive which should be any minute.”

True to your word, people started showing up a few minutes after Danny. Most people you didn’t know, but you knew Laura was friends with all these people. They started mingling around, steering clear of you, much to your amusement and pleasure. Even though you're dating the tiny ball of joy, your reputation of being ‘broody and unapproachable’ precedes you (Laura’s words, not yours).

A minute or so after Laura’s class ends, your phone vibrates. It’s Laura’s friend, Ashley, telling you that they are on their way.

“Hey everyone,” you say loudly. No one looks your way. Ugh, you're going to have to do this the hard way. You stand on the chair next to you and yell “QUIET!” Everyone stops what they’re doing to look at you. You like how everyone looks at you with fearful respect, well except Danny who looks annoyed, though even that makes you happy.

“Laura is on her way and will be here in approximately three minutes. So find your hiding spot before I turn of the lights.” Everyone just states at you still in reverent shock. “Well, get a move on,” you prompt. Everyone scatters like ants. Yep, you still got it.

You hop off the chair and walk to the windows. You start closing the blinds. You want it as dark as possible so she won't suspect a thing when she walks in. You're pretty sure she will love this- hell, you know she will love this- but what you're most worried about is what you have planned for after the party. You shake away those negative thoughts. No use in going back now.

“Ok guys,” you say as you close the last of the blinds and walk to the light switch next to the door, “everyone better be in positions because the light is being turned off in three, two, one.”

The room is encased in darkness. You hear whispering in the dark which helps you to maneuver to the middle of the room. You stand in front of the table with the food on it, playing with the table cloth nervously. You just want everything to go right.

“Ok people, time to start quieting down,” you speak into the darkness after about a minute. They should be here any moment now. The chatter immediately stops and everyone holds their breath as they wait for the guest of honor to arrive.

The door handle starts to jiggle and the room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. You're grateful that everyone is taking this so seriously. You want everything to be perfect now so Laura will be in a good mood later for her second surprise.

“I understand that’s the way she asked for it, but they won't ask for that on a real newspaper. It is ridiculous for her to teach us this way when- Why are all the lights off?”

“That’s weird. Why don’t you turn on the lights?” Smooth Ashley, smooth.

Laura flips the switch, and as she does, everyone yells surprise. She is slightly taken aback by the outburst and drops her books on the floor. You chuckle to yourself as you saunter over to your girlfriend. You lean down and start picking up her books.

You stand back up, her books in hand, to look into her eyes for the first time. They are wide in amazement and slightly misty. You smile sweetly at her as she takes in her surroundings.

“Do you like it?” you ask nervously. She focuses back on you and her smile widens.

“Like it? I love it Carm!! How did you do all of this without me knowing?”

“So, you were really surprised? You had no idea?”

“None,” she answers truthfully.

“Perfect,” you smirk at her. “Happy Birthday, cupcake,” you say before leaning in and giving her a soft kiss which she deepens instantly by threading her fingers through your hair. You whimper slightly as she rakes her nails lightly on your scalp. You're just biting her lip when…

“Get a room you two and let us party,” Xena yells from across the room. You kiss Laura a bit longer, balancing the books in one hand you send Danny the bird with the other causing laughter to bubble across the room. You finally pull back, smiling slyly at Laura’s still closed eyes and ragged breath.

You grab her books and her backpack and place them on a small table in the corner of the room. When you turn back around, Laura is already lost in the crowd of people. You allow yourself a small smile before taking a seat next to a couch chair where you stashed a book for this very occasion. Though you threw the party, you didn’t want to actually socialize in it. That’s Laura’s job.

The party’s a bit noise… ok let’s be real, it was fucking loud. You glare at half the people who walk anywhere near you so much so that people keep at least four feet between them and your sanctuary. For the sake of Laura, you have not yelled at any of these litwicks, yet. Eventually, you manage to tune out the laughter and the talking and the music and basically everything except your book. You get a few chapters in before someone takes your book from your hands and places it on the floor. Your about to roll some heads before you see the culprit.

“Having fun, pop tart?”

“Loads. This is probably the nicest thing that anyone has done for me…ever.” Laura gives you the biggest grin you’ve ever see, which you return with a warm smile of your own.

“So tin man does have a heart?” Danny jokes from behind Laura’s left shoulder.

“Can it, Bigfoot.” Danny scowls before walking away. You redirect your attention back to Laura, where she is giving you an unamused look.

“You guys could be nice for one day.”

“Can fire get along with water?” She just rolls her eyes before climbing into your lap, wrapping her arms around your neck. She kisses you under your jaw slowly for a few moments.

“Thank you,” she hums in between kisses.

“S-sure,” you stutter out. She smiles against your skin. You push her away from you slightly by her shoulders. She gives you a pout. You chuckle. “We will have time for that later. You have a party to enjoy.”

“You could enjoy this with me.”

You used to be a big partier, but that was mainly to hook up with girls. Now you have Laura, so you don’t need to party. Plus, you prefer night parties with alcohol and clubbing music, especially with your extremely attractive girlfriend. You can't exactly get away with things here like you could under the cover of darkness.

“You go have fun. I'm fine with my book which you so rudely took away from me,” you tease.

“You weren’t exactly complaining, roomie.” She smirks at you and leans in. Your eyes flutter closed immediately, expecting a kiss, but she brushes her lips over the swell of you cheek before she grazes her teeth on your ear. She pulls back far too soon for your liking. You verbalize your feelings via growl.

“Slow down there, kitten, we will have time for that later,” she quotes you as she stands, leaving you slightly worse for wear. You once again smile at yourself (which you should stop if you don’t want people to think you actually have feelings) knowing you’ve rubbed off on her. You pick up your book to continue reading.

A couple of times Laura was able to coax a dance out of you. You lit the candles on her cake and joined everyone singing happy birthday. All in all, the party was pretty good considering you didn’t participate in most of it.

Towards the end of the evening, when people started leaving, you brought the presents, the cardboard Tardis, and the birthday banner upstairs, placing them on your unused bed. Her bed is more comfortable anyways. You place the Tardis next to the window; you guys can figure out a more permanent place for that later.

When only the ginger triplets remained, you went to the rooftop to get everything situated for part two of Laura’s birthday surprise. You're happy the party lasted as long as it did or else it wouldn’t be dark enough yet.

You head down the stairs and back to the common room, only Danny remains, talking to Laura animatedly. You try to suppress the twinge of jealously that rises in your stomach. You know that’s in the past and was barely a thing to begin with, but you’ve had issues with unfaithful partners in the past.

_But that’s not Laura._

“See you later Danny.” Laura waves goodbye to the overgrown beanstalk when she sees you return.

“Bye Laura,” she replies happily before turning to you. “Fangs.”

“Xena.” She sends you once last glare before walking out the door.

“Where did you run off to?”

“Just putting the presents and some of the decorations in our room.” She eyes you suspiciously but doesn’t press. “So Ginger 2 cleaned the room while I was gone?”

“Ya, she said she couldn’t leave knowing this mess was down here and knowing that you probably wouldn’t clean it up anyways.”

“Hey!” you start to protest before Laura silences you with a knowing look. “I would have at least thrown things away,” you pout.

“I know, Carm, I know,” she comforts semi-sarcastically.

“Well, since the cleaning is done, all that’s left to do is go to our room.”

“Uh huh,” she says still suspicious of you.

You start climbing the stairs, you being in front. You pass the stop for your floor and just keep going up.

“Uh Carm? We kinda missed our stop,” she points out yet still follows you. You flash a grin over your shoulder and if this was a cartoon, there would be a twinkle in your eye you just know it.

“No we didn’t, Lauronica Mars.” You take her hand in yours partly to keep her from heading back down partly cause you're nervous and some physical contact would be calming (and from Laura, it always is).

You reach the door to the rooftop, pausing as you put your hand on the doorknob. You turn to look at the girl this is all for. She’s extremely confused and curious which makes you feel slightly better.

“This is my other present to you.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything, you already-” she stops midsentence as you open the door and drag her outside.

You thank whatever god is out there that it isn't windy or else the blanket could have flown away or the telescope could have been knocked over. If worse came to worse, you would at least still have the champagne. You look between her and your setup. It isn't anything big, not like the party, not like Valentine’s Day. She remains quiet for a few moments, which starts to make you more nervous.

“Listen, we don’t have to-”

“Shh,” she says as she brings a finger from her free hand to your lips. “It’s perfect Carm.”

She looks over at you, eyes beginning to water, but her lips are cracked in a grin so you assume happy tears. Before Laura, you didn’t realize that was actually a thing.

“I can't believe you did this all for me.”

“Believe it cutie. I know I don’t show it or say it all the time, but I’m pretty fond of you. You’ve been good for me and I just wanted to make sure you knew, or something like that.” You offer a half smile that is all nerves. She looks at you like you could be the only person in the world right now and throws her arms around your neck, tackling you into a hug.

You laugh into her hair. You’ve grown to love this child-like side of Laura; it is one of your favorites (though they’re all your favorites). Her head remains buried into your neck as you pick her up and walk over to the blanket. You lay her down on her back, but are unable to pull away due to her death grip on your neck and her legs wrapped around your waist.

She pulls back slightly to stare into your eyes. She remains attached to you, but you can't bring yourself to care. It’s not like you're not basically in this position ever night.

“Hey Carm?” her voice sounds so small.

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.” You roll your eyes at her. She gives you a deep look like you're the most precious thing ever, similar to the look she gives cocoa at 2AM, but different than that, more important. You think it could rival the looks you give her when you think she’s looking. “No really, thank you. No one’s ever thrown me a surprise party.”

“You mean Papa Hollis never gave his ‘precious little girl’ a surprise party?” you ask in disbelief.

“He thought that it was too dangerous since people can get defensive when they get surprised and I knew krav maga so I was extra dangerous.” She smiles proudly.

“Of course he did,” you chuckle.

She quickly reverses your positions while you're momentarily distracted. She releases your neck and sits up in your lap. Her hands on your shoulders prevent you from sitting up as well. She looks down on you in adoration.

“I’ve never had anyone who cares so much about me. You do all these things for me, never expecting anything in return.” You open your mouth to protest the praise, but once again her finger silences you. “And don’t try to deny it. You just sat through hours of a party you had no interest in being at.”

“I will always be where you are Laura. That was your party so of course I would be there,” you mumble around her finger. Those three words stick in your throat. You can't bring yourself to say them first. Not after last time when Ell laughed in your face and revealed she was seeing someone on the side.

“I know. It means a lot to me to know you’ll always be there,” she responds taking her hand away from your mouth to stroke your hair. Her last and only girlfriend, in high school, always put Laura second so you know that your presence is always enough for her, but she deserves the best which is why you do all these elaborate things for her.

“I love you,” you both say at the same exact time. A huge grin spreads over your face and tears start streaming down her eyes, happy tears of course. (Not that you would admit it to anyone, but you teared up too…)

You sit up, Laura still in your lap, and wrap your arms around her waist. You stare for a moment more before capturing her lips in a sloppy but sweet kiss. She loops one arm around your neck and threads her other hand into your hair. Every so often one of you whispers those words against the others lips, and every time, it causes smiles and giggles to erupt from one or both of you, making kissing next to impossible, but somehow you manage.

**Author's Note:**

> Unfortunately, this isn't the super long one-shot I've been writing, but I've decided to put that on hold to write the next chapter of Hospital AU. Thanks for reading. You can find me at squeakylemons on tumblr.


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